The accommodation was small but cozy, and sufficient to block out the cold wind.
The sleeping area was quite neatly arranged, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable, but…
“There’s only one room, so we have no choice but to share it, they say.”
“…Well, it can’t be helped.”
Inside the accommodation, there was a small room that could fit only about two or three people.
The knights and Betty were really grateful to leave that room so that Leoprick and I could sleep.
Really, really grateful.
I let out a big sigh inwardly as I looked at the neatly spread bedding.
I didn’t expect there to be only one bedding, barely enough for two people to lie down.
I’m so grateful I could cry.
I forcibly put a smile on my lips, barely suppressing the sigh that was trying to escape.
“Shall we sleep for now? If we sleep quickly, we can start moving early tomorrow.”
“Yes. Let’s do that. It’s important to conserve our energy.”
But while I’m grateful for making me feel such ambivalence, what’s important is important in its own right.
I walked past Leoprick and entered first, taking my place on the bedding.
Then Leoprick also walked slowly and lay down on the opposite side of me.
It’s a distance where our bodies would touch if we let our guard down even a little.
The bed in the accommodation at Waynes wasn’t very big either.
But is it just my imagination that it seems much bigger than this bedding now?
It seems like I’ll have to be careful not to lose my sideways sleeping position throughout the night.
I fell asleep without even realizing it yesterday, but can I do the same today?
Lying on my side facing the wall, I kept thinking endlessly in my head.
How I could fall asleep quickly, if Leoprick was in the process of falling asleep.
Things like whether I can really fall asleep when I need to conserve energy for tomorrow.
At other times, I wouldn’t have called it a waste of time, but thinking that Leoprick was right next to me, I found myself continuing those thoughts unknowingly.
Am I getting nervous?
Or do I think he’s going to do something to me?
But I’ve never been nervous around Leoprick before.
I’ve just felt something like pressure at times because he’s a man, stronger and bigger than me.
In my past life, it was just a sense of tension like worrying if he wouldn’t move as I wished when we had political head-to-head fights, or if he would notice when I poisoned him…
No. Let’s stop.
I closed my eyes tightly as I continued to think about why I was getting nervous now.
What reason do I need?
I just need to remember that I’m someone who feels guilty towards him, and that he’s unusually favorable to me.
I stopped thinking with my eyes closed to fall asleep.
I didn’t want to unnecessarily drain my energy thinking about things that wouldn’t make a difference.
It’s also because it’s more suspicious that I can’t figure out his intentions.
It was then, as I was slowly stopping my thoughts.
“Amelia. Are you asleep?”
Leoprick suddenly spoke.
It was a careful voice, lowered to the fullest in case I had fallen asleep.
I hesitated for a moment, thinking about pretending to be asleep, but then quietly opened my eyes.
“No. Not yet.”
I answered in a small voice, thinking it would be better than pretending to be asleep, even though I didn’t know what he was going to say.
Because I just wanted to do that.
I didn’t turn my body or head to look at him.
But upon hearing my answer, he suddenly turned his body and changed his position.
The sound of the bedding rubbing and rustling was particularly loud in my ears.
Whether he wanted to talk face-to-face or whatever, he opened his mouth behind my back.
“The bedding seems uncomfortable.”
The low voice delivered to the back of my neck touched me.
I clenched and unclenched my fists, feeling goosebumps slightly rising on my arms.
“It’s okay. It’s not extremely narrow, so…”
“If it’s uncomfortable, I can leave.”
“Didn’t you lie down with me thinking it would be more dangerous for me to sleep here alone? But if Your Highness leaves, how can I manage alone?”
Is it uncomfortable to sleep together?
For a moment, I thought I should turn my body and check his expression.
I wanted to understand his intentions for saying that.
But to talk face-to-face like that, the distance was too close again.
I clenched my fists tightly and repeated that it was okay.
It’s okay. Don’t worry and just sleep.
“I’m saying this because I’m concerned about you.”
But the words that came back seemed to be mixed with a sigh.
Is there a problem?
At those words, I erased the thought of trying not to look at him, and carefully turned my body to face Leoprick.
I thought it would be better to talk face-to-face after all.
But as expected, the distance from him after turning my body was too close, as I had thought earlier.
Moreover, perhaps because of the height difference, what I saw immediately after turning my head was only his chest.
I had to raise my head to see his face.
…If I had known, I should have just stayed still.
I let out a small sigh, unable to raise my head or say anything in a position that felt like I was almost embraced in his arms.
And after that sigh, his arm suddenly approached and wrapped around my body.
“Excuse me.”
A naturally circling arm, a firm arm under my neck that seemed to say he would definitely hold me while sleeping.
I just blinked for a moment, frozen in a stiff posture, unable to do anything.
“I thought it would be more comfortable to sleep like this rather than being uncomfortable keeping distance from each other. Is it okay?”
It wasn’t a coincidence that the morning of our wedding day came to mind at that gentle voice.
It reminded me of Leoprick back then, who scratched his arm and held me while sleeping.
At that time, I fell asleep like I fainted in the middle and woke up in the morning with no memory…
But now that I can vividly see it in front of my eyes, can it really be okay?
I bit my lip as I watched his chest rise and fall in front of me.
What he said isn’t wrong.
Rather than uncomfortably curling up our bodies while being conscious of each other on a not-so-wide bedding, it would be better to sleep close together like this.
But, but still…
“I won’t do anything, Amelia.”
And as if reading my thoughts, Leoprick whispered softly.
Just like that, he comforted me in a gentle voice, saying he wouldn’t move as if holding me.
Don’t worry. He won’t harm me.
As I listened to that quietly, I thought it was a bit absurd.
No matter how our emotional distance was, we were husband and wife.
Although we were a couple who wrote a contract to break up not long after, anyway.
Whether he roughly makes up an excuse here and holds me tight, or even says he’ll take me, I wouldn’t hate him for it.
I put my hand on his waist and opened my mouth.
“I’m not worried, Your Highness. We’re married anyway, so what’s strange about sleeping like this?”
It was a posture that wouldn’t look strange to anyone.
It was also ridiculous for me to get nervous for no reason in a relationship like ours.
Shouldn’t I not tremble at this while being in a position where we have to look like a couple to anyone, anywhere, anytime?
I patted his waist and closed my eyes.
“It doesn’t matter, so just sleep. I don’t mind.”
“Are you really okay with it?”
“Yes. Didn’t we sleep like this on our wedding day too? It’s okay.”
So please go to sleep too, Your Highness.
I added briefly and patted him a couple more times.
It was no big deal.
In the future, there will be many times when we’ll have to sleep like this in one space to avoid people’s eyes, so I can’t be conscious of it every time.
If I have to get used to it anyway, it’s better to get used to it quickly.
I said that and slowly inhaled.
The contact of body heat wasn’t unfamiliar, but I still had to sleep.
It was then, as I was slowly preparing to fall asleep.
“Amelia? Are you asleep?”
I heard the same careful voice as before.
And this time, I didn’t answer.
He let out a long sigh, probably thinking I had fallen asleep.
“I hoped you would be a little more conscious of me.”
If only I hadn’t heard Leoprick’s true feelings mixed in that sigh.
If so, I might have been able to fall asleep just like that.
At the small sound ringing in my ears, I froze with my eyes closed.
Does he mean he wanted me to be a little nervous and treat him that way?
Or is this also an extension of his words that he wants us to be like the Emperor and Empress?
I suppressed the sigh trying to escape and suddenly stiffened my body.
…Leoprick, who said he would only do that much and sleep, put strength in his arm and hugged me.
I had to hastily bite my lips that almost made a sound to cover my mouth.
I pretended to be asleep, so I couldn’t move my body or ask him to let go…
As I just kept my eyes tightly closed without saying anything, Leoprick’s low voice rang above my head.
“I thought I wouldn’t be greedy, but when I think that you seem to keep wanting to stay by my side, I keep getting greedy.”
It was a mumbling sound, but it was enough to convey the meaning.
What was he trying not to be greedy for and what was he trying to be greedy for?
I held my breath quietly, feeling his chest rising and falling in front of my face.
“Don’t make me keep being greedy.”
“…”
“Then I really don’t know what I might do.”
His voice gradually became smaller as if falling asleep.
The meaningless sounds that seemed to be directed at me continued, but even that became increasingly difficult to understand.
Is he going to fall asleep holding me like this?
When all his movements completely ceased, with a light stroke of my hair at the end.
I was frozen, unable to escape from his arms or push him away.
With my eyes closed, I erased the thought that kept coming to my mind.
The thought that perhaps, both before the regression and now, he may have wanted to gain my favor from the beginning.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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